The Season of Alone

As we walk with God, we experience different seasons. We will have a winter when life is more difficult and God is more silent. We will experience spring, with its new beginnings. But have you ever walked through the season of alone? There are many stories in the Bible of people in their alone season. A theme that resonates in the lives of these people is faith in the one, true, living God. It is from this season that they are ultimately propelled into their destinies.

In Genesis 6, the earth was corrupt and violent, and the thoughts in men's hearts were continually evil. The Lord regretted creating man and decided it was necessary to destroy every living thing on the earth. But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. In Genesis 7:1, God said to Noah, "For you alone, I have seen as righteous."

God's plan of destruction was to flood the whole earth and wipe out all mankind as well as every creature. He commanded Noah to build an ark of safety big enough to house seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, a pair of all animals that were not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens, male and female. Imagine how the people around Noah reacted. No doubt, a ship that humongous being built in his backyard had to be a curiosity to people passing by.

Noah was the only righteous person left on earth, so he was the only one instructed by God to prepare for the flood. Matthew 24:38-39 says, "For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." Because of Noah's righteousness and his faith in God, he and his family were the only survivors of the flood. His obedience saved humanity from being completely wiped out.

Little did Noah know that the ark was a foreshadowing of Jesus, who is our Ark of safety. Humanity is flourishing because of Noah's faithfulness to God in his season of alone.

Abram walked closely with the Lord and was righteous in His sight. In Genesis 12, God instructed Abram to leave his country, his kindred, and his father's house, take his entire family, the servants, and all the animals, and start walking. God said He would show him where to go. Sounds a lot like the journey we are on. With all these people and all the commotion, Abram alone was responsible for listening to and obeying God's next command.

Because of Abram's righteous walk with God, God changed his name to Abraham and made an everlasting covenant with him. He told Abraham, "I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing." In Genesis 12:3, God said, "I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

In Genesis 22, Abraham faced something none of us would want to face. God commanded him to travel to the land of Moriah and offer his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. Because of his love for God, he rose early, saddled his donkey, and cut wood for the offering. He took two of his young men and Isaac and began walking.

The journey to Moriah took three days. Three days of walking to the place where he would have to kill his promised child. Three days of thinking. Three days of listening to Isaac talk, probably asking questions about the journey. Three days of believing that God could change the situation, if He wanted to. Little did Abraham know that his obedience in taking Isaac to Moriah, prepared to obey God fully, would be a foreshadowing of the Messiah's sacrifice for our sins.

Because of Abraham's righteous obedience to God, God said, "…in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” We are experiencing blessings in our lives today because of Abraham's faithfulness in his season of alone.

In Genesis 30, Rachel, the wife of Jacob, walked through a season of alone. She was loved by Jacob more than her sister Leah, but she was barren. Leah gave him four sons right away.

Because Rachel couldn't have children, she envied Leah and gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife. At least she could give Jacob a child through her servant. Bilhah had two sons. When Leah realized she was no longer able to conceive, she gave Jacob her servant, Zilpah. Zilpah had two sons.

One day, Leah's son, Reuben, found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother. Rachel asked Leah if she could have some of the herbs. Leah said to Rachel, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?

The significance of this herb is that the mandrake is a root that was believed to increase fertility. Rachel agreed to let Leah have Jacob for the night if she gave her some of the herbs. Rachel was desperate to have a child. Then, Leah had two more sons and a daughter.

Mandrake

God remembered Rachel and opened her womb. She named her son Joseph, who, through his own alone season, would save his family's lives. Joseph was Jacob's favorite child, which caused his brothers to hate him. They threw him in a pit and debated whether or not to kill him. He was eventually sold into slavery by his brothers and taken to Egypt.

In Egypt, he became a servant to one of Pharaoh's men. Because of his integrity, he found favor and became the manager of his master's entire household. But later, he was wrongly accused of attempted rape by his master's wife and thrown into prison for several years. While in prison, Joseph found favor with the warden and was put in charge of the other prisoners. After a series of events, Joseph was called on to interpret Pharaoh's disturbing dream. Pharaoh was so pleased that he promoted Joseph to second in command of Egypt.

Genesis 41:57 says, "Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth."  His alone season put him in a position to save "all the earth", including his own family, from starvation during the greatest famine the world had ever experienced.

When Jacob died, Joseph's brothers began to panic, afraid that he would take revenge on them for what they had done to him. But Joseph was a man of integrity, and it shows in his response to his brothers. In Genesis 50:19, he said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."

Joseph was propelled into the destiny for which he was born, to save humanity from starvation. We exist because of his faithfulness to God in his season of alone.

Barley Grain

The ultimate story of the season of alone is the story of Jesus. Philippians 2:5-8 says, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." How awesome is our Savior!

Before Jesus' ministry began, He had to walk through a season of alone. After being baptized, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days and nights. During this time, He was tempted by the devil but overcame the devil with scriptures. Once He came out of the wilderness, He was ready for ministry.

Jesus began a revolution in the earth. His Sermon on the Mount changed everything. No longer were kings, rulers, or Pharisees to be exalted. Instead, the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted, these are the ones called blessed. Jesus turned the whole world upside down and split time. Even unbelievers know what A.D. and B.C. mean.

Jesus knew His destiny here on earth. He knew the pain and suffering to come, and He walked the necessary path anyway. Jesus was the final sacrificial lamb. No more animal sacrifices were required. No more traveling to Jerusalem to the temple to commune with God. The six hundred and thirteen laws were fulfilled in Him. The veil no longer stood between God and man. Jesus did away with the law and brought relationship to us.

 He made His way to the cross to lay down His life, the perfect sacrifice, for us. I can't even imagine how awful this world would be if He had chosen not to complete His mission. Because of His season of alone, we have abundant life on earth and eternal life when our mission is finished.

The season of alone is a time when God pulls you away and brings you into Himself. He wants that special time with you. It is not punishment, it is intimacy with the Savior. It is a time of healing, teaching, and training. Your purpose becomes more evident. You will never be the same after walking through the season of alone.

Resources

1.  Ham, K. (2023, June 24). Ken Ham answers “Who were the nephilim?” Answers in Genesis. https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2023/06/24/ken-ham-answers-who-were-the-nephilim/

2. Genesis, A. I. (n.d.). What we know of Noah and the Ark in the Bible. Answers in Genesis. https://answersingenesis.org/noahs-ark/what-we-know-of-noah/